09.30.08

While the New York Daily News’ Frank Isola hopefully cites a William Wesley sighting as evidence the Knicks have a shot at LeBron James, Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports James Dolan’s refusal to eat the remainder of Stephon Marbury’s $22 million contract resulted in another fun-filled reminder of the point guard “draining the spirit of hope and change out of the room.” And this on the opening day of training camp, too.

Marbury has never been so defiant. He™s bragging about losing 25 pounds “ honoring Walsh™s instruction to get into the best shape of his life “ but it™s clear he™s as erratic as ever. In his annual YouTube summer moment with Bruce Beck recently, Marbury™s goofball performance left little doubt with NBA executives that he™s as unstable as ever. When he returned to talk again Monday, he declared that, œStephon Marbury TV.net is coming soon, where you can view all highlights, clips and in-depth interviews.

Just what the world had been waiting on: Starbury on an endless loop. Eventually, he was in constant contradiction with reality and himself. One moment, he insisted that he no longer cared what anyone said about him, that his spiritual awakening “ an annual epiphany “ made him œpray for those belittling his greatness. He cared so little, he called out one New York basketball writer, Newsday™s Ken Berger, for aptly describing Marbury as œtoxic in the paper this summer.

At the end of his session, Marbury climbed to his feet and wrapped a creeped-out Berger in the most inappropriate Knicks hug since Isiah and Anucha. Marbury kept saying, œI™m going to pray for you, in this strange, suffocating clench. And then, he left his teammates behind in the gym and walked toward a curtain patrician leaping into the air and pumping his fists to no one but himself. Once more, Marbury disappeared into his own world.